The Darkening
by PSULucky
Summary: As Mario and co readily seek their next pure heart, all goes wrong as they end up binding through time in order to set things straight. Now, with an adventure even bigger than before, will the deceit, suspense, and action be too much for them to handle?
1. Prelude

**Please read this first**-Hey there, and thanks for checking out my new fan fiction, _The Darkening_! I think (and hope) that this will be like something you have never read before, or, at least, contains unique characters that are hardly ever used in a fan fiction. Also, if you could, check out my other story, _Murder on the Cheep Cheep Blimp_. I think you'll enjoy it.

But anyway, back with this story...well, it contains **major** spoilers regarding **Super Paper Mario**. If you haven't played that game yet, I'd highly suggest you do so before reading this fan fic, unless you don't mind reading about some of the more major plots in the game.

So, I hope you enjoy this fan fic, and to those of you that are reading _Murder on the Cheep Cheep Blimp_, I am, by no means, discontinuing that fan fic. If anything, I've reached a major plot in that story and I can't wait to write it.

Disclaimer-Nintendo owns the characters, the game, etc.

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Prelude**

And there he stood, inside the castle of King Croacus the Fourth, looking mysteriously around the long, regal room in which he was situated. Mounted to the walls were four interesting looking pictures honoring the four King Croacuses, all matching the same physical appearance, save for their color. Adjusting his red cap, the famous hero, Mario, moved towards the first of the pictures, analyzing the gray colored flower in awe. Underneath was a few sentences which he turned his attention to. The sign they were written on read as follows...

_King Croacus the First_

_(Reign: 1-496)_

_The first king of the Flora Kingdom, Croacus I is known as the greatest of kings._

_He united the Floro Sapiens under a single cause, creating the Flora Kingdom._

_He made a capital here and established a calendar, begun at the kingdom's birth._

_Heavily armored, he bore deadly thorns and came to be called the "Iron Rose."_

_The kingdom's infrastructure and early roads were built by Croacus I's design._

_But when his successor, the prince, wilted unexpectedly, so did Croacus I's spirit._

_The Flora year 444 marked the start of his reign of fear, "The Darkening."_

_Eventually Croacus I and his foul regime were overthrown in a sappy coup d'etat._

_The king was struck down, marking the official end of The Darkening._

_His wilting words were said to be "The Iron Rose shan't wither!" But wither he did._

He raised his eyebrows and looked a few feet to his left. His pixl friend, Tippi, was watching him from behind. She was about to question what he had read on the sign, but instead decided to remain silent and let him walk over to the second picture. Featuring a portrait of a white hued flower, Mario glanced down and read the correlating sign underneath.

_Queen Croacus the Second_

_(Reign: 496-1298)_

_Croacus II was the daughter of the greater ruler King Croacus I._

_Croacus II was imprisoned for being critical of the former king's policies, but..._

_When he was overthrown by the people, Croacus II was freed and given the throne._

_Her efforts to reduce taxes and study diseases made Croacus II very popular..._

_Eventually, her influence helped erase the scars The Darkening had left._

_She also compiled a Floro Sapiens prehistory called "The Flictionarion."_

_The book was to be her legacy, a historic mark of her benevolent influence._

_Croacus II feared the fight for the throne that might ensue if she bore many heirs._

_She had but one heir, late in her life. This earned her the name "The White Maiden."_

Mario took a moment to take the words in, then nodded, satisfied, and maneuvered to the next of the pictures. Behind him, princess Peach shared matching feelings with Tippi, wondering just what might have been written under those pictures. She took the initiative to read the first while Mario read the third...

_King Croacus the Third_

_(Reign: 1298-1385)_

_Croacus III was just one when his mother wilted. He became the youngest king ever._

_The young king had a great predilection and talent for poetry and art..._

_His talent was evident in works like "Ice Rose," a book of poems from his 37th year._

_But he was also afflicted by a terrible disease from the time he was born..._

_Without ever impacting the affairs of his kingdom, he wilted at age 88._

_The cause of his wilting was never made public. Many suspected a conspiracy..._

_This was never confirmed._

Mario stared at the young king for a moment, noting the blue color of his facial features. Only one more picture remained to his right, though, and, from behind, the Koopa king, Bowser, watched as Mario, Tippi, and Peach were all reading a separate picture. Even though he wasn't much a fan of reading, he figured it couldn't hurt to join them. And as Mario approached the last picture, he shuttered at the thought of having to soon battle the figure that made up the contents of the portrait. The final king was of red color, and the words underneath his picture read as follows...

_King Croacus the Fourth_

_(Reign: 1385-present)_

_Formerly a regent for the King Croacus III, he ruled in place of the frail child king._

_After Croacus III's wilting, his service was recognized, and he was made king._

_His stabilizing influence and political savvy made him popular and well known._

_His recent achievements include:_

_In Flora year 1625, he invented a method for mind-controlling Cragnons._

_In Flora year 1626, he spearheaded an initiative to enslave Cragons en masse._

And indeed, that was just what Mario was trying to stop...


	2. An Unexpected Battle

Here's the first chapter. Hope you guys like it. =P I've got LOTS of ideas for the fan fic.

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Chapter 1-An Unexpected Battle**

"Huh, who knew there were all these King Croacuses?" Peach asked after reading the signs underneath each of the pictures. Bowser was just finishing up, too, and Tippi had already finished, but was too busy taking the information in.

"Yeah, really..." Mario wondered, giving more thought into the consideration of the origin of King Croacus, "Ah well, let's go get that pure heart..."

And just like that, they opened the door leading to the throne room of King Croacus IV. But what waited on the other side was unexpected. Unexpected, that is, for the heroes. And worse yet, the pure heart Mario was so intent on getting wouldn't necessarily be coming their way...

"Oooooooo-weeee-ooooooo! Where, oh, where are my pretties?!" The large plant boss asked, the look of near-insanity mixed with slight confusion on his face. Whether he expected Mario was beyond the plumber's knowledge, yet King Croacus knew only too well that everything was only going as planned... "Pretties... Beautiful things... Ooo-wee! Bring them to me...More! More! More!" It was then that he got a good look at Mario for the first time. He seemingly sized him up and said, "...Ooo? What is THIS hideous, clashing thing?"

Tippi cleared her throat and asked timidly, "Um... Are you King Croacus?

The King laughed a maniacal laugh and grinned, "Ooooo-weeeee-oooooooooo! So you must be the intruders I've heard SO much about... Well, I will NOT forgive the great trashening of my beautiful kingdom! NOO-WEE-OO!" He evilly grinned at Tippi (well, at all of them, for that matter). And quickly he added, "...Thus you are warned!"

Mario's pixl friend continued to speak for the group, " King Croacus! You must release the Cragnons you've enslaved..." She looked at him almost imploringly and sighed.

"NEVER! Their sturdy bodies make them SUCH fine workers. Exquisite! I need them to dig up more gems so I can build a bejeweled palace. Ooo-weee!"

"Why, how positively horrid... Release them this instant!" Tippi demanded. But somehow she didn't think her quiet and shy voice was going to influence the cruel mind of a king. And she was, unsurprisingly, correct.

"Trash is garbage, no matter how you dress it. This world is made for BEAUUUUUTY! And if you need some proof...then have a look at this!" The King smiled, satisfied with his short speech. Yet, he was even more satisfied with the unveiling of the pure heart, which he promptly lifted over his head. Just the aura of such a beautiful object gave him the sense of power.

The other four all gasped simultaneously. But it was Tippi who added, "It's the Pure Heart!"

"I can hear it in your voice... You want it SO badly, you can barely think, mmmmmm? Seems we all seek beauty... So how DARE you take a high horse over me?!" The king yelled wildly, yet simultaneously pitying the powerless group of four in front of him.

"Don't compare us to you... We're NOTHING like you!"

The plant king squinted at her and replied, "Your blabber hurts my ears! And your smell is wilting me! I can stand you no longer. I rarely stoop to such things, but I'll destroy you myself. Consider it an honor!" It was at that moment they all watched in jealousy as the king safely tucked the pure heart away until it was no longer in view. But, it only took a matter of a few seconds before the heroes peeled their eyes away from the whereabouts of the pure heart and watched the king grow tremendously.

First, he encased himself in a strong, protective flower shield that covered his entire face. But the real surprises only began as numerous plant stems and vines grew from his body and sprouted outward. And on the end of each of these vines formed a rock-solid plant-head (much like that of King Croacus's).

"Oooooo-weee-OOOOOOOO! Here I COME!"

And in an instance, King Croacus lunged at the four of them, laughing maniacally. Mario, a normally agile and quick-to-think person found himself getting a face full of flowers as the king crushed him, leaving him dawdling on the ground in a daze.

"Oh, Mario!" Peach called, cupping her hand over her face in agony at her boyfriend's suffering. Immediately she called forth her pixl friend Thoreau and began to put his abilities to use.

Dodging King Croacus's attacks, she hurled Thoreau directly at the king. Being a very handy pixl, indeed, he latched on immediately to one of the rock-hard flower hands and pulled it towards Peach. Realizing she might use his own body against him, she tossed the stone as hard as she could. Much to her dismay, though, it smashed against the king's rock hard protection and left him with not even a dent.

"Oh, no!" She called, realizing her attack was a failure, "Bowser, do something!"

Much to her surprise, the Koopa King was already bounding on top of the plant king, timing it perfectly so that his just collided with King Croacus's now unprotected head.

Tippi looked confused, "Woah! That hurt him!" She analyzed her surroundings and simply thought, while simultaneously dodging the king's endless array of attacks, "Guys, wait until he shows his head to attack!" She concluded, "That's the only way you could hurt him..."

From three different angles, the three different heroes began attacking the king relentlessly. However, doing so much damage didn't come without a price, though. By the time the king had received at least twenty damage, both Mario and Peach felt as if they had been dealt three times that. Bowser was the only one who seemingly remained an unbreakable composure.

"Ooooo-weeee!" The king's voice boomed, "So, you are tougher than you appear..." He mocked, tucking himself back into his protective shield, "Well then, how about you face THIS!"

And in the same time frame the battle had suddenly began, King Croacus unsuspectedly transformed. Losing the annoying vines and rock-hard heads, he let himself fly freely through the room with only his body and his protective shield remaining.

"Huh..." Bowser said, "Doesn't this just make it easier? His stupid little friends are gone now..."

Peach looked up at the now moving king, "Yeah, reall-,"

BAM!

In but just a second the princess felt an intense stabbing feeling in the back of her head. Yelling in pain and crumbling to the floor, she looked up, only to make horrified eye contact with three sharp, spinning petal blades. They spun around the room in the same manner King Croacus did, but with added quickness, and of course, difficulty.

Bowser found himself getting forced into a wall as one of the sharp blades knocked him several feet back, "Wahh! Geez, what the heck are those things...?!"

This time, it was Mario who seemed to be doing just fine. Acting on account of his extreme agility, he managed to dodge the spinning blades with ease and jump on King Croacus's head as it quickly revealed itself, "Ha!"

"Woo, go Mario!" Tippi called from above, offering nothing but some moral support for the heroes. It sure would've been useful if she was actually capable of attacking, though...

Again Mario landed directly on the king's head, causing him to roar with annoyance and mild pain. But despite his hardships, he still remained entirely comfortable. He didn't plan on being the 50 HP boss everyone thought of him as...

"Oooooo-weeeeeee-ooooooooooo!" He called, "Yooooouuu are a foooooool!" He cackled and caused all fighting to stop suddenly. The once spinning blades fell lifeless to the ground, and he, himself, flew out of each of the heroes where neither side could deal damage to the other, "Ha ha ha ha ha! Don't you know of the power of a pure heart?!"

Tippi looked at him in extreme confusion and disgust, "Huh? Wait, what do you mean?! Answer me! I demand it!"

But the king ignored her wishes and began to laugh. He laughed at the imprisoned Cragnons. He laughed at Tippi's useless intimidation. And, most of all, he laughed at the puzzled expressions on the heroes' faces, "Quiet, you bug! Now!" He revealed the pure heart once again.

But something just wasn't right...

No...not right at all...

It didn't glow with its typical glimmer. It didn't illuminate the room brightly with its wonder. And Tippi's once all powerful pure heart tracking sensation shrunk to absolutely nothing. As far as they were concerned, this was no longer a pure heart...


	3. Game Over

Well, I sure have been writing quite a bit to this fan fiction, also a bit more than what I've posted. But yeah, I'll probably alternate updates between this and _Murder on the Cheep Cheep Blimp_, unless I'm particularly interested in writing a certain fan fic a lot (like I am today...this one).

But anyway, enjoy chapter 2! I have lots of ideas for the upcoming chapters...not many of the exact details, but quite a few ideas...

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Chapter 2-Game Over**

"_Oooooooooooo_! Look at this beaaauuuuuty!" King Croacus laughed maniacally, obviously obsessed with the now dead pure heart in front of him. But if he was so obsessed with beauty...then why on Earth would he have, quite literally, _killed_ the pure heart?

"That is not beauty!" Tippi yelled. Peach yelled something of the similar sort, but neither of their voices came close to agitating the king. If anything, it was just getting him more prepared than ever...

"Ooooh, so, do you now believe me that pure hearts are just greater than love? In fact, they can be used quite easily for evil..."

"But..." Bowser moaned, for once speechless and at a loss of words, "How...?"

The king merely laughed. He only knew the 'heroes' would be so pitiful as to actually ask how he managed to conjure up such evil power and put it to use. But, despite his mental insanity, he knew better than to answer their question with truthfulness, "Ha! You think I'd actually tell you how I managed to do that? Is that what you're saying?"

The four heroes, from across the vast room, all just stared. And the king, as always, was easily amused, "Ooooooo-weeeeee-oooooo! And now...it is time for you to...well, lose your game!"

_Flash!--_

_Boom!--_

_"Wahhhh!...."--_

_Crash!--_

_"Ma-ri-ooooooo!"_

...

...

...

...

...

...

..., "io?"

.., "Ma..."...

"o?"

., "Mar..."

..., "Mario! Wake up!"

...

"Huh?" The red capped plumber rubbed his eyes and looked up. Above him was Tippi, while he and the other lie on the ground, a terrible feeling erupting through each of their bodies, "What happened? Where are we?"

The butterfly pixl frowned, "Huh..." She began to examine her surroundings as Mario eased his way into a sitting position, groaning loudly as if in pain. Gee, she was sure glad she was a pixl that didn't have to put up with any backaches..., "This place is...totally gross..."

And she was right. Ahead of her spanned many many screen-fulls of a dark, dank atmosphere. The whole feeling gave her the sense of...underground, "Ugh...why are we here?" Above her dripped water from a leaky...something. The something was not visible though, as vines and other plants seemed to engulf the entire ceiling. And ahead of her, she spotted some creepy looking people that didn't look much nicer than the very place she found them in.

"Rarg!" Bowser complained, sitting up, "Who dumped us off in this crap world, huh? I wanna go home! Hurg! Forget about the stupid pure heart...let's just give up..."

Tippi suddenly spun around and faced him, "Did you just say 'pure heart'?"

The Koopa King looked a little confused and suddenly uncomfortable, as if Tippi had said something that clearly shut up his moans and complaints, "Uhh...yeah..."

The butterfly pixl took a moment to examine the ground. Not to actually look at the ground, itself, but to take a moment to think about what Bowser had just said. Pure heart? Why were they looking for a pure heart? "Wait a second...pure heart...that sounds so...familiar,"

"No kidding," Bowser growled, "We were looking for them, remember?" But the blank expressions on the other three clearly told him that they all got a slight dose of amnesia ever since...the unsuspected happened.

"Are you sure?" Peach asked.

"Yeah!" He answered, "But...I kinda forgot a little, too. The last thing I remembered was something about 'The Darkening'. Well, that and a big room filled with creepy portraits. But after that my mind just draws a blank...great..."

"Portraits..." Mario repeated, thinking intently as to what Bowser just said. And better yet, he, too, was now remembering something about some 'Darkening'. But as to what that was supposed to mean, he couldn't quite remember..., "Weren't there flowers, too?"

Peach jumped up, "Yeah! Flowers, now I remember. But, huh...all I can think of after that was a bunch of 'Ooooo-weeee's...whatever that means..."

"King Croacus!" Tippi burst out, "The big plant guy!"

"Yeah!" Mario clearly remembered, too, "We were on an adventure to collect the pure hearts...and to get our sixth pure heart we needed to defeat the king, right?" The other three listened and tried to comprehend what he had just said. But it didn't take long for them to realize that they were right.

"Uh huh..." Bowser nodded, "Then King Croacus did his 'oh i'm so cool' flashy light, big explosion move...and now we're all here. In this garbage pile of a world. Gee, who thought this would be a cool world, huh?"

"Probably some Japanese guy..." Peach thought, "But anyway, let's get moving. We have to figure out how to get back to the Land of the Cragnons. And speaking of which, weren't the Cragnons the guys that were enslaved?"

"Oh yeah..." Tippi responded, "I almost forgot about those..."

"Hey! You four!" Called a distant voice. Immediately the heroes turned their attention to one of the not-so-pleasant looking guys that was now approaching them. Luckily, though, he didn't look light he was out to harm them. The last thing they needed after their intense fight was to battle some random creature that felt like getting in the way.

When he finally reached them, he said, "You guys knew to The Underwhere? Well, everyone's gotta be here some day, ya know? Anyway, welcome to your afterlife. I'd suggest going to see Queen Jaydes..."

"Who?" Tippi asked, the same not ringing any bells.

"Queen Jaydes," The creature repeated, "She's the queen of The Underwhere. A scary lady, too...so you'd best not get on her nerves..."

"Hey wait a second..." Bowser suddenly interrupted, "Ten seconds ago...did you say 'afterlife'?" And it was then that the four all simultaneously wondered and remembered the same thing. What on Earth was this 'afterlife' the guy was speaking of. Only those who are no longer alive can live on in the afterlife...

"Heh heh..." The creature laughed, "Where else did you think you were? This is obviously the place you go once you've spent all your one ups..."

"So wait..." Bowser intruded upon the creature's words once again, "You mean I finally got Mario to lose all his one ups?! Do you know how long I've been trying to do that?! Man, I feel so accomplished now..."

Peach just rolled her eyes, "Bowser, you didn't even kill Mario. Heck, when we were still alive, you couldn't even scratch Mario. And besides, you're dead, too..."

"Well, it's still worth it..." He muttered, turning back to the creature who, by now, was entirely confused. Apparently he hadn't heard of the great and wonderful Mario when he still lived on Earth...

That's sure a surprise...

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**Random, useless trivia hour!**

Trivia fact of the day: I actually l-o-v-e The Underwhere as a chapter in the game, but I kind've want to portray it negatively in the fan fiction. Why? I have no idea.


	4. The Appearance of Queen Jaydes

Uh huh, here's chapter three. Four should come tomorrow, and maybe an update to _Murder on the Cheep Cheep Blimp_. Anyway, enjoy.

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Chapter 3-The Appearance of Queen Jaydes**

"Where did you say we were going again?" Peach whined, clearly exhausted from her previous encounter with the king. And because of this, she had a one hundred percent chance of complaining about nearly everything they did.

Mario took the initiative to answer her, "We have to see Queen Jaydes...wherever she is...I think we need a map, cause I'm lost..."

Bowser mocked him, "Oh, gee, the great Super Mario doesn't know where he's going, that's a surprise. Yet somehow, you always seem to know how to get through my castle with ease..."

"Well duh," Peach interjected, "Geez Bowser, you really need to invest in a new floor plan. Honestly. You're castles are so stupid, they just consist of long hallways and useless enemies. Like Goombas...I mean, come on, _I_ can beat a Goomba...:"

"Huh, well, thanks honey," Bowser answered, "I greatly appreciate all these great tips. When I get back to my castle I'll be sure to take all your advice into consideration,"

Peach just rolled her eyes and groaned, "Ugh...we're dead, remember?" Somehow Bowser must have forgotten about that. Well, he sure wasn't happy after she realized she was right...

"Nooooo! But I have a world to take over! Oh, _come on_! This is so cheap..." He began to pout and remained silent as the four just continued their seemingly endless walk across this barren and desolate death-land. Was this supposed to be the over-world? Geez, whoever came up with this as an idea for the over-world sure was an idiot...

As the group ventured on, they eventually came upon a large, pink river that didn't look very sanitary to swim in. Peach just groaned at the thought of getting her dress wet, while Bowser continued to pout. Mario was seemingly in a daze, and Tippi didn't really mind water too much, considering she could just fly over it.

"Oh, hey, a boat!" Mario pointed to a small boat with a small sitting on top. Conveniently, he was on their side of the river, looking as though he were eagerly waiting for some guests to arrive.

"Hmmm...would you four like a ferry across the river?" An old man named Charold asked. He sure looked like he fit the bill of a typical Underwhere citizen. His creepy apparel and pain-staked expression just seemed almost stereotypical when it came to a dank, rotting place like this, "It's four coins..."

"Uhh...yeah, sure," Mario said, handing him four coins and thanking him for the convenient offer.

Peach sighed as she took a seat on the boat, "So, what's this place, huh? 'The Underwhere'? And what's with this river? Why is it pink? Is it poisonous?"

Charold just groaned. This must have been a newcomer. Nearly everyone just introduced to The Underwhere always had a truckload of questions to ask him out of sheer curiosity. After a while, it just seemed to get plain annoying..., "Well, you are dead, as you probably know. The Underwhere is the place you initially go to once your game has ended. Go see Queen Jaydes and she will determine if you are...good enough to go to the Overthere. And no, the river is not poisonous..."

"Huh..." Well, Peach was sure out of questions. And besides, they'd be docking in about ten seconds anyway...in which they'd have to sadly resort to walking until they met up with the queen. Too bad they'd have to spend it in the slums of the Earth, "Well, let's go. Of yeah, do you know where the queen is right now?" She asked Charold, "Queen Jaydes?"

The man took no time to respond, as if he robotically knew where the queen was at every hour of the dark day, "Continue to the right until you come to a dimensional door. Go through it and you'll soon be at the queen's palace. Good luck..." He waved them off solemnly as they all exited the boat, one by one.

"Ugh, who is this queen, anyway?" Bowser asked once they were out of audible range of Charold, "Do you think she'll respect my fine toned body?"

Peach gave Bowser one of her classic death glares, "So I guess you're not my husband anymore, huh? Well fine, if you'd prefer the queen going all goo-goo over you..."

"Hey, wait. I didn't say that..." Bowser shook his head, "I just think I deserve a little more respect from someone, since plumbers with mustaches obviously can't recognize my awesomeness. And besides, I'm a king. It fits perfectly,"

"Well I'm sure she's married..." Peach figured, "Hey, wait...why are we even talking about this?!"

"Yeah," Mario butted in, "I don't think we want the queen of The Underwhere knowing we're trying to hook her up with...well, umm...you," He and Bowser exchanged some unfriendly stares as they approached the queen's palace.

But it wasn't really a palace. It looked more like an outdoor hallway-staircase with a bunch of red guys with sunglasses standing on them. And, at the far end of this joyous place stood the queen, herself.

"Oh, it's the queen!" Tippi said, starting to fly just a tad bit quicker in order to speed up the time it would take to make Jaydes' acquaintance, "I can't wait to meet her...she must be a wonderful woman. I mean, how often do you get to meet the queen of The Underwhere...?"

"Well that's certainly true," Mario nodded and agreed, also quickening his pace in order to keep up with Tippi, "But wait, didn't the guy near the entrance say that Queen Jaydes was a scary lady, or something?"

"Oh yeah...well that's odd...I wonder why he'd say that..."

After climbing the elongated staircase in order to reach the queen, they all stopped immediately at where she stood and gazed upon her immense frame. This woman sure looked very queen-like. Maybe not the friendliest looking person...and considering she was about four times the size of Mario, the group thought it to be very accurate advice that they had better not get on her nerves. Who knew what this woman was capable of?

"And who are you four?" Her booming voice asked. Just the sound of it sent a shiver down each one of their spines, "Newcomers, I assume?"

"Well, umm...yes," Mario was the first one to speak and answer, "But...I really don't think we have died. Honestly...we were in the middle of a battl-,"

"Oh, do not worry. It is quite apparent that you have died, and believing the opposite is always the first step in the process of crossing over. It happens to just about anybody,"

Mario just sighed and shook his head, "But why? So soon? And besides, we're the heroes of prophecy, we weren't meant to die!" He kicked some dirt at his feet and looked back at his party, agitated.

But Queen Jaydes showed no similar emotion. If anything, she looked utterly surprised, "Wait...heroes of prophecy...? Well, you sure do look like them. But then...does that mean you are searchers of pure hearts?"

Tippi's eyes suddenly grew wide at the thought of the queen having some kind of knowledge of the pure hearts, "Yes! That is exactly what wee were doing when our game supposedly ended..."

"Hmmm..." Queen Jaydes looked deep into the depths of The Underwhere and beyond. She looked as if she were intently thinking about something. As to the 'what', however, Mario and his friends were yet to find out, "Well, let me see. If you truly are the heroes of prophecy, then that means that you..." She looked at Mario, "Must be Mario, and that you...must be princess Peach. And you're, by default, Bowser. And if I'm correct, you're Lady Timpani?" Her eyes met with Tippi's.

"Huh?" Peach asked, surprised, "Timpani? Who's that? This, Queen Jaydes, is Tippi. She's a pixl friend of ours..."

But Tippi didn't look so sure as Peach did. In her mind she knew she was holding something in particular back from them all, but doing so would have only meant the better, anyway. So she let Peach ramble on to the queen about whatever she wanted...as long as her identity remained unexposed, "Ummm...yeah,"

"Oh..." Queen Jaydes said in a confused tone of voice, "Okay then. But anyway, you four should be glad to know that your games have not truly ended. In that case...I will send you back to a place that may seem...hauntingly familiar..."

The four just exchanged glances of interest as Tippi decided to ask, "What's that mean, exactly? Hauntingly familiar...that doesn't sound too good..." The other heroes nodded in agreement as they waited for the queen's answer.

"That may be true...not good, perhaps, but necessary..." She paused for a moment, "If I send you back to where you previously were you will undoubtedly fail to beat King Croacus. Yes, I do know that is exactly where you were before your game was cut short...but anyway, you need to go back to, well..."

When it was clear the queen didn't really want to finish her sentence, Bowser took the initiative to try and help her do so, "Where do we need to go back to?! C'mon! Tell us! What kind of queen puts us back to life without telling us where we're going, first?!"

"Hey now, clam yourself," Queen Jaydes said, acting surprisingly pleasant in such a disrespectful situation, "I will send you to a place that you probably do not want to go to. But if I tell you...you will probably refuse to let me take you there. And it is only dutiful of me to listen to your earnest wishes. So if I tell you and you don't want to go there...then, well, I won't make you..."

The four glanced at each other and all separately considered what she was saying in their minds. It took a few moments of silence for them to realize the queen was probably right, "Alright," Mario said, nodding, "Take us..."

Queen Jaydes nodded and smiled, "Thank you...and good luck. Remember, the world is still depending on you..."

_FLASH!_

_

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_

And now, the true adventure begins. Prepare yourself for the very story that I had thought of in all of ten minutes.

Oh yeah, trivia fact (wow, of the same day): My entire inspiration for this fan fiction came from recently playing Chapter 5 in Super Paper Mario, a few weeks ago during the beginning-middle of the winter olympics. Basically I read the four signs underneath the King Croacus pictures and came up with an idea that will transform those four paragraphs into many (60,000+?) words.

And finally, where do _you _think Queen Jaydes is taking them?


	5. Welcome to Flora City

Well, this chapter will certainly explain where Queen Jaydes decided to send them. You might not fully understand what's going on, but you'll probably get the basic gist. And if not by this chapter, then certainly by chapter 5 or 6.

Anyway, enjoy. I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Not sure why...maybe because it marks the sole basis of the plot to the story? Yeah, probably that. But okay, enough talking, enjoy!

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Chapter 4-Welcome to Flora City**

"Ugh...urk...hoof...where are we?" Tippi's eyes flitted open as she recovered from their oh so strange trip. Apparently coming back to life had that kind of effect on a person, "Mario?"

The three non-pixls still remained on the ground, unmoving. Strange...they didn't even look awake, but, at least they were breathing. The last thing Tippi would need would be three, immobile heroes taking up space on the ground, "Guys? C'mon, rise and shine! Up and at 'em! Yoo hoo! Mariooo!"

But her attempts resulted in a failure, and the three remained in a deep sleep. Huh...Queen Jaydes hadn't mentioned any side effects resulting from her teleportation trick...how strange.

Well, if Mario, Peach, and Bowser weren't going to wake up for a while, she figured she'd best take a look at where they now were. And if Queen Jaydes was right, they'd be just about hating it, too. But yet, from Tippi's view, it sure didn't look too hate-able..._yet_...

Spanned out across a large panorama stood a variety of small buildings, (possibly) houses, and just about anything you'd have seen back home at the Mushroom Kingdom. The only big differences would have been the entire city's color hue. Everything looked so dark and decayed, not only the buildings, but the sky was a horrible, unchanging brown color. And stranger yet, there was no pavement. No concrete (well, maybe a little), no asphalt. Just dirt. Roads? There currently were none. Unless you'd consider a dirt path to be a fully functional road...

But then Tippi's eyes met something that made her jump right out of her pixely skin. On a billboard quite close to where she stood contained the words "Welcome to the Flora Kingdom".

What the?! _This_ was the Flora Kingdom?! But...she could have _sworn_ she and the other three had already been to the Flora Kingdom. Wasn't it an underground network of tunnels? Didn't it have that cave-like-esque to it? And most importantly, it certainly wasn't above ground!

But then...what was this place they were currently at? If this was the supposed Flora Kingdom, and if the King Croacus castle was visible to her across the horizon, then what was that underground world she remembered so particularly well? And if the King of the Flora Kingdom was in his underground throne room at that very moment, then who stood in the large, much grander castle at the edge of this strange city?

At this point, Tippi was sure she was going to malfunction and resultantly explode (because that is what pixls do). But then...oh, but then...something a million times stranger...something a million time weirder...something a million times _unexplainable_ caught her eye. Written on a far off poster was the picture of King Croacus, his body not red, _but gray_. And underneath this picture were the words, "Thanks to our present king, King Croacus, the Flora Kingdom is what it is today."

Present king?! Not...King Croacus IV?! But...what did this all mean?! Who was this guy on this poster?! He sure didn't _look_ like the King Croacus they had battled only a few hours ago. But then...who _was_ this guy...?

And in just a matter of seconds, Tippi completely lost it. Rushing over the Mario she squealed, "Mario! Mario! Wake up! C'mon! Please, JUST GET UP! This is bad bad bad bad bad! Mario! Peach! C'mon Peach, time to wake up already! Bowser, move it! Someone! GET UP!"

But no one budged. And once she realized they probably weren't going to get up any time soon, she simply covered her eyes and groaned loudly. On her own, she didn't have a clue what to do. So again she looked out upon the vast land in front of her, immediately disgusted by its perpetual darkness. She could tell it wasn't even night time...but that the entire city was just stuck on a joyless, seemingly sunless piece of land.

"Ugh...why does this have to happen to me?" She asked herself, flying away from her three friends and more towards the city. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going, but perhaps it would be best if she started by requesting King Croacus's help. Or, at least, whoever the guy on the poster was...

And hopefully, he wouldn't be so insane and evil as the King Croacus she and her friends knew too well. If she was right in thinking that this wasn't the same Flora Kingdom they had previously been at, then maybe, just maybe, this gray colored king hadn't inherited any of the attributes the red king possessed.

Upon venturing down into the city she found it to be scarcely populated. But it didn't take long to find just a few Floro Sapiens walking around, chatting, or doing their jobs of maintaining the city. And oddly enough, they weren't attacking her, either, unlike the Floro Sapiens she remembered from the Gap of Crag.

"Excuse me..." She said to one of the (hopefully) friendly flowers, "Do you know where your king is?"

"Yeah, in the castle..." He responded.

Tippi realized that was probably a stupid question, "Oh...yeah. Well, how can I get to the castle. Are there any maps in this town? You know, the ones with 'you are here' written on them?"

The Floro Sapien just laughed, "Heh, no. At least as far as I know of. But it's simple. Just keep going straight and the castle will come into view. You can find it, trust me..."

"Oh...well, thank you," And with that she was off, leaving the flower to do whatever he was doing. As for her, well...she needed to figure out just what was going on. What was this new Floro Kingdom? Where was the kingdom with King Croacus? And...most importantly, why were her friends stuck in a very deep sleep?

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Dun dun dun! So many questions! And so little time! Well, maybe not the so little time thing, but there's still a bunch of questions to be answered. You might even be a little confused. So why don't you take some time to review and state your thoughts about what's going on? After all, this chapter does mark the beginning of this unique adventure.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for Chapter 5 in the near future...


	6. King Croacus

Finally! It's about time I decided to start writing again. I took a short break just to analyze my fan fictions (or something), but I'm back now and I will continue to update regularly. Hopefully I won't take any breaks and time soon, again.

Note, the arrival of this chapter also means that a new Murder on the Cheep Cheep Blimp is coming soon.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter, but be cautious: You may need to reread the last chapter or two just to catch up on what's going on. This chapter is a bit longer, and therefore contains a lot of important things. You may be a little confused, but don't worry, you'll definitely understand soon enough.

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Chapter 5-King Croacus**

The castle of King Croacus the who-knows-what was typically anything but what Tippi expected. It was no longer a small, underground enclosure that held merely a few rooms, as she had once remembered it. Now, it was an above-ground, multi-story, too big to be true castle with about a million towers and balconies, "What is this place...?" The pixl asked herself as she approached the castle's immense doorstep.

Everything was oddly quiet, and she wasn't entirely sure whether she should be expecting some grand entrance or not, seeing as this was the perfect atmosphere for her surprise birthday party.

Tippi flew up to one of the large door-knockers, using just about all of her strength to lift it up...

But then the door unsuspectedly opened, and out walked a very royal looking Floro Sapien. Surprised to see a pixl a few feet above his head, he gasped and asked, "W-who are you...?"

Tippi let go of the door knocker and flew down to his general level, an almost unsure expression on her face. As far as she knew, there was practically a bounty put out over her and her friends' heads. But then again, that was also when everything made sense..."Umm...I'm Tippi, a pixl. You look...like a Floro Sapien..."

"Ah, yes. Indeed I am. Tippi, you say? Well, what brings you to the king's castle?"

The pixl's mouth just kind of dropped in slight amazement. She wasn't sure why, but she found it surprisingly strange to actually talk to a Floro Sapien without having to avoid its flying head in battle, "Uh-ummm...wait a second. I'm really confused. I thought...I thought you guys were trying to...you know, kill me...?"

The Floro Sapien gave her an odd look, "Kill you? Dear, we don't even know you!"

Tippi felt a little reassured. Based on this flower's very sincere sounding words, she was quite certain this was no hoax. But...if it really wasn't a hoax, then was she right in thinking that King Croacus no longer wanted her and her friends dead? "Well what about the Cragnons?! Aren't you imprisoning them? Holding them hostage?"

"Imprison the Cragnons? Of course not! I'm not really sure why, but I feel as though you think the Floro Sapiens are very cruel people... - err - flowers..." He shook his head, "And we're not. We've been great friends with the Cragnons for as long as I could remember..."

Tippi's eye twitched, "Wait what? But-,"

"Listen, Tippi. You must be confused...very confused. Why don't you come into the castle? I'm sure the king will try and sort out what your talking about. After all, he'd probably like to settle this before you spread any untruthful rumors. This is not your fault, of course. You're just probably...confused..."

Tippi sighed, "I-I guess..."

And with that, the Floro Sapien began leading her into the castle, practically having to coax her along in an attempt to break her out of her strange trance. But she was weary. As far as she remembered, King Croacus was not planning on helping her. No, not at all. Instead, he'd probably curse the Pure Heart once again and use it to end her game. Again.

But at that moment, an idea sparked in Tippi's mind, "Hey, you!" She called, "Do you know where the Pure Heart is...?"

The Floro Sapien turned around for a moment and squinted at her. It looked as if his gaze did not end with her pixely body, but almost as if he was staring beyond. Beyond into deep thought. The same thought that probably involved how he should dare answer her question, "Well..." He finally spoke up, "I-I know I've heard the king mention something about a 'magnificent sparkling beauty', but...he could be referring to just about anything..."

"How interesting..."

The Floro Sapien nodded, "Indeed. But I do sense that whatever this beauty is...well, it must be something particularly special. I mean, the king's gone pretty crazy over diamonds and priceless jewels and whatnot...but just the look in his eye when he brought up the sparkling beauty made me think this was something a bit more than a gem he had found..."

Tippi took all this in, quite willingly, and almost hoping the Floro Sapien would reveal more. When at first she doubted giving him her trust, she now realized that he may prove to be a very useful tool to get information out of, "I see. And...I'm guessing you've never seen a heart shaped glittering beauty?"

He shook his head, "No. I can't even be sure the king has this...'pure heart' - err, whatever - you're looking for. But I _can_ assure you the king will be of great help...oh! Here's the door to the throne room..."

Tippi glanced ahead and noticed a magnificent door planted up against the wall. Just the detailed framework probably costed about half of those rare gems the Floro Sapien mentioned the king liked to collect. And it was also at this moment that Tippi actually got a real good look at the spectacular castle she found herself in. Among the walls were portraits of this strangely gray colored king, and around the main halls stood beautiful statues, complemented by the royal splash of red on each of the sofas. She also happened to notice a ballroom while peering through a far-off door at the end of the hall. Gee, this castle sure improved from the once underground and puny enclosure she had remembered just about an hour ago...

"The king should be on his throne..." The Floro Sapien said, slowly opening the gigantic door. If Tippi didn't know any better, there should have been some angelic music playing specifically for the grand unveiling of the brilliant throne room.

The Floro Sapien motioned for Tippi to enter, closing the door behind her after she managed to fly her body into the vast expanse of a throne room. Flying ahead and taking the front position of the duo, Tippi grew more and more nervous as the king's body came closer into view.

What was going to happen, though? Would her life be ended only moments after talking to the king? Would he realize she was the butterfly pixl that was ruining his plans to turn the Cragnons into slaves? Well, if that even _was_ happening...

And then he spoke...

And his voice boomed even louder than she had remembered...

"_Whoooo approaches?_"

Tippi just shuttered at the sound of his slightly recognizable voice, "Uhh-ummm...K-King Croacus?"

"Yes, that is I...and you are?"

"I-I'm Tippi. I'm a pixl...but you probably know that. Umm..."

King Croacus leaned his giant head forward, "Dear girl...you look worried. Is something the matter?" The compassionate look on his face and in his eyes gave Tippi a bit of reassurance...

"Well...I'm...I'm very confused. You see..." She paused and held her breath. What she was about to tell the king would either make her or break her..., "My friends and I were on an adventure. And...one part of the adventure required us to go to the Flora Kingdom to stop King Croacus from imprisoning the Cragnons and turning them into slaves..."

"Wait..." He said suddenly, "Let me cut you off there. You do understand that _I_ am King Croacus. And I assure you that I have no intention to imprison the Cragnons, our friends..."

"Well yes. I get that. This Floro Sapien here told me the same thing," Tippi said, pointing to the very helpful flower who stood silently behind her, " But, well...let me start from the beginning. The very beginning..."

King Croacus nodded and said, "Yes, indeed...perhaps that would be for the better. After all, we'd better get down to the bottom of this, seeing as you are very...confused," Again, he nodded towards her, this time as a sign to start speaking.

"Okay, well...my friends and I are - or, at least, were - going on an adventure. An evil man named Count Bleck was our enemy, and he was using an object known as the Chaos Heart to end all words. My friends and I were required to stop this, and to do so, we needed to collect the eight pure hearts that were spread far and wide to various places on the Earth. To obtain our sixth pure heart, we were sent to the Flora Kingdom, which, at that time was located in an underground network of tunnels. Let me also tell you that the castle was a mere few rooms, and was nowhere near as grand as the one I stand in now. But...then we had to battle King Croacus, who looked similar to you, except he was of a reddish color. Whoever this red King Croacus was used the pure heart he had in his castle to abruptly and our games and send us to The Underwhere. It was then that we met the queen of The Underwhere, Queen Jaydes. She told us she was going to transport us to 'a place we wouldn't like', and then sent us here. But my friends appear to have been affected by the teleportation, and now they are unconscious...and now I'm alone...and I don't know what's going on!"

King Croacus tried to take all of this in at the pace of which she spoke, which was quite difficult for the now bewildered king, "You say this King Croacus was red, right? That couldn't have been me, then...and besides, I'd have remembered battling you,"

Tippi shrugged, "I guess that's true...but...then it doesn't explain who I was battling before. And it doesn't explain why the Flora Kingdom looked nothing like it does now. And it-,"

"Calm yourself, Tippi..." The king reassured her, attempting to keep her from having any kind of psychological breakdown. She sure did look a bit shaken up, and he had to admit, he felt bad for her..., "Can you tell me anything you remember? Perhaps it will make me think of something that could be useful..."

The pixl just frowned and went into a state of deep thought. What on Earth could jog the king's memory? Obviously nothing she had said meant nothing to him...at least when it came to him remembering anything...

...

But wait...

There was something...

Something that Tippi was remembering...

"Wait! I remember we were in a giant room filled with paintings, and...you were on one of the portraits! Yes, I remember you...you must be King Croacus I!"

The king smiled and nodded, "That's me...but, if I may ask, who was on the other pictures?"

Tippi thought for a second and provided the king with a disappointing look. It seemed as though remembering more was making her less and less pleased to actually recall something, "Well...it was pictures of other kings. A white one, a blue one, and a red one. The same red one which we battled. And...isn't the white one...your daughter?" If she remembered correctly from reading those portraits, then the white queen was King Croacus I's daughter. But...wasn't there something written about the first king imprisoning his daughter because she didn't agree with his leadership? Did that mean...she was talking to that very person? The one who not only imprisoned his daughter, but also led the Flora Kingdom into a state of fear, called 'The Darkening'? And the same king whose dying words were 'The Iron Rose shan't wither!'? Wait..._dying_? "King Croacus! Please! Tell me what year it is!"

The king looked a bit startled by her sudden outburst, "Well, if you're referring to Flora years...then it's year 106...but, why do you ask...?"

Tippi's eyes bulged, "106?! Why is it 106?! It was like, 1500 the last time I checked!" She panted like a dog as King Croacus's eyes became wide with amazement.

"1500? That would certainly explain why you saw the three other kings on those pictures. But...how on Earth are you back in the one hundreds?"

"I don't know!" Tippi shrieked, shutting her eyes and letting the rest of her anger out internally. What was happening to her?! Is this what Queen Jaydes thought would somehow be useful to the heroes? Turning the clock back over a thousand years? "And yes...the pictures were of the kings that came after you. Wasn't the white queen your daughter...?" She repeated the question she had asked a few minutes ago.

"Umm...ye-yes, that is her. How did you know?"

"Oh..." Tippi said, thinking for a moment, "I read it off of the portraits. They had short biographies of each king..."

The king's eyebrows raised and he suddenly cleared his throat. A bit nervous about asking his question, he took a moment to contemplate what he was going to inquire. But...he needed to know, "Seeing as I'm apparently not king for 1500 years, may I ask...what ever became of me?"

Tippi bit her lip and stared the king in the eye for a second, "N-no...King Croacus...I can't...and I shouldn't..." She sighed and looked at the floor. How could she possibly tell him that he imprisoned his daughter and would eventually be overthrown?

The king grimaced, "I suppose I shouldn't know, for now,"

Silence. The room seemed to naturally grow more and more quiet as the conversation continued to increase with seriousness. And now...Tippi was unsure of what to say. But...she did have _one_ question..., "King Croacus? Do you know of the pure heart?"

"Well, you did tell me about it, yes..."

"No..." Tippi shook her head, "I mean...do you have it?"

The king just laughed as if mocking the amount of logic put into that question, "Of course I don't! I don't even know what it looks like...but, don't worry, Tippi...if the heart decides to show up anytime soon, you'll be the first to know it,"

"Oh..." She smiled, "Thank you...and, may I please ask you one more thing?"

"Anything,"

"Well..." She cleared her throat, "My friends are unconscious on the outskirts of the kingdom. I was wondering if you could somehow help them..."

The king smiled a jovial and welcoming kind of smile, "Tippi, I will send some of my Floro Sapeins there this instant. And, if you'll be kind enough, would you guys be willing to accept staying in one of the many bedrooms within the castle? It's the least we could do for a confused person such as yourself..."

Tippi's eyes lit up, "Oh, thank you, King Croacus! I will gladly accept!"

The king just laughed, "Now, I will organize a few Floro Sapiens to go retrieve your friends...they'll just need you to lead the way. That's fine with you, yes?"

The pixl nodded, "Yeah, I remember where they were..."

"Good..." The king grinned, "Good..."

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...

...

...

...

"_Florette! Keep an eye on this pixl! She knows not what she says. And...she is a liar. She must be crazy. Insane. Anything. The Dark Prognosticus promised me eternal leadership over the kingdom. I shan't wither. Ever,_"


End file.
